Impact of wedelolactone in the anti-glycation and anti-diabetic activity in experimental diabetic animals.

The glycation reaction is the addition of free carbonyl group of reducing sugar to the free amino groups of proteins, lipoproteins and nucleic acids which results in the formation of an Amadori product which may ultimately lead to the generation of advanced glycation products (AGEs). The impact of AGEs on proteins consequently generates free radicals, "a key player" for the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus. Gel electrophoresis was carried out to see the visual changes taking place as a result of the glycation reaction. In this study, the anti-glycation and anti-diabetic effect of wedelolactone (WED) was seen both in vitro and in vivo. WED reverted various biochemical markers in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats along-with the improvements in the oxidative stress markers. It also decreased the levels of the glycated serum protein and fasting blood glucose. Broadly, WED not only inhibited glycation in vitro but also proved to be an effective in vivo anti-glycating agent. © 2018 IUBMB Life, 70(6):547-552, 2018.